The Complete Fairy Tales

Charles Perrault
Translated by Christopher Betts

The only complete edition of all Perrault's tales both in prose and verse, in an entirely new translation, illustrated by Gustave Doré.

Perrault's fairy tales established the versions of Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, Little Red Riding- Hood and others that we know today, and also include the verse tales Griselda, Three Silly Wishes, and the notorious Donkey-Skin.

The tales are accompanied by a fascinating introduction that explores the genesis of the stories and why they have such great imaginative power, their relationship to other versions and the many interpretations to which they have been subject.

Includes 26 stunning illustrations by Gustave Doré.

Includes appendices on related tales and selected variants, bibliography, chronology, and notes.

The Complete Fairy Tales

Charles Perrault
Translated by Christopher Betts

Description

The fairy tales of Perrault--stories that are known and loved around the world--are now available in this scintillating paperback edition, with twenty-six stunning illustrations by Gustave Doré. The superb translation by Christopher Betts exactly captures the tone and flavor of Perrault's world, and the delightful spirit of the originals. In addition to the classic prose tales--including The Sleeping Beauty in the Wood, Little Red Riding-Hood, Bluebeard, Puss in Boots, Cinderella, and Hop o' my Thumb--this new translation adds Perrault's tales in verse: a long poem on the subject of Patient Griselda; the notorious Donkey-Skin; and the comic Three Silly Wishes. Bett's introduction deftly illuminates why in Perrault's hands these humble fairy tales have such great
imaginative power, showing how they transmute into vivid fantasies the hidden fears and conflicts by which children are affected--fears of abandonment, conflicts with siblings and parents--and resolve so satisfactorily the problems experienced by children while growing up. The volume also includes appendices on related tales and selected variants, a bibliography, chronology, and notes.

About the Series: For over 100 years Oxford World's Classics has made available the broadest spectrum of literature from around the globe. Each affordable volume reflects Oxford's commitment to scholarship, providing the most accurate text plus a wealth of other valuable features, including expert introductions by leading authorities, voluminous notes to clarify the text, up-to-date bibliographies
for further study, and much more.

The Complete Fairy Tales

Charles Perrault
Translated by Christopher Betts

From Our Blog

This story may or may not be a fairy tale, though there are certainly fairies in it. However, unlike any of his Victorian forebears or most of his contemporaries, Machen manages to achieve, only a few years before the comfortably kitsch flower fairies of Cicely Mary Barker, the singular feat of rendering fairies terrifying. With James Hogg's 'Confessions of a Justified Sinner', Robert Louis Stevenson's 'Thrawn Janet' and several of M. R. James's marvellous ghost stories, 'The White People' is one of only a handful of literary texts that have genuinely unnerved me.